Girdle or like article of apparel



March 15, 1960 E. PUCCI GIRDLE 0 LIKE ARTICLE OF APPAREL Filed Nov. 27,1957 I INVENTOR. Emdw 'PzzcczL,

BY BM 3001151.-

United States Patent GIRDLE OR LIKE ARTICLE OF APPAREL Emilio Pucci,Florence, Italy, assignor to The Formfit Company, Chicago, 11]., acorporation of Illinois Application November 27, 1957, Serial No.699,328 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-523) This invention relates .to girdles orlike articles of apparel which are used chiefly to support or controlthe body of the wearer.

Heretofore, it has been the practice among girdle manufacturers toprovide a garment of the character described of such construction thatit would, in effect, impose merely a repressive force on the abdomen andbuttocks. As a consequence, the garment tended to push the abdomen andbuttocks toward each other, thereby flattening the abdomen and tendingto push the buttocks in a downward direction and out of their naturalrounded configuration. In ordinary street apparel, the flattening effecton the buttocks is not unusually noticeable. But, for example, when thewearer of such a girdle is wearing sports clothes, tight slacks, orbathing suits, such flattening effect is quite apparent and callsattention to the fact that the wearer of the garment needs figurecontrol. It is obvious that the very last thing a woman wants to do isto call attention to the fact that she needs figure control. Thewell-corseted figure should not be noticeably so.

Broadly, it is the object of the present invention, therefore, toprovide a girdle of such a nature that it will control the body of thewearer yet withal will impart thereto a natural, youthful appearancewhich belies the presence of the girdle.

Specifically, one object of the present invention resides in theprovision of a girdle of such a nature as to not only control and reducebut to shape and uplift the body of the wearer, whereby to avoid anoticeable flattening of the buttocks and instead to impart to thederriere of the wearer a rounded, natural, youthful appearance.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of agirdle that will not squeeze the silhouette into a bulgy tubular shape,but will, follow the nature lines of the figure, controlling and moldingto ideal proportions.

Briefly, the above and other objects of the invention are attained bythe provision of a girdle composed of a body portion, preferably formedof a light but firm twoway stretch nylon elastic material.v This bodyportion extends across the front, and around the sides and part of theback, of the body of the wearer. An insert is set in the rear portion ofthe body portion over the buttocks,

and this insert is secured to the body portion with curved seams. Theinsert is also provided with a curved vertical seam in the centralportion thereof. Preferably, this insert is formed of a cotton-Dacronbatiste which is relatively non-elastic. The two-way stretch materialacross the front affords the necessary control or support for theabdomen. The insert with its curved seams imposes an uplift effect tothe buttocks, thereby imparting to the buttocks a natural, rounded,youthful appearance-as distinguished from the downwardly forced andflattened appearance imparted to the buttocks by the common andcustomary type of girdle.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, together with themeans whereby the invention may be carried into effect, will best beunderstood in more detail:

from the following description of a preferred embodiment illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which: I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a girdle embodying the principles ofthe present invention, as it appears on the body of the wearer; Figure 2is a view similar to Figure 1, but with the girdle divorced from thebody of the wearer; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating indotted lines the natural contours of a body, and in full lines thedownwardly-forced, flattened effect imparted to the buttocks by thecustomary type of girdle heretofore employed;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, illustrating in dotted lines thenatural contours of a body, but showing in full lines the uplifted androunded effect imparted to the buttocks by the girdle of the presentinvention;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectionalview on the plane of the line 5-5 ofthe girdle of Figure 2, showing the fullness of the insert; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of the component parts insert. I Referring nowin detail to the drawings, the girdle of the present invention may be ofregular waistv length, as shown, without garters, or it may be a highwaist style with detachable garters. The' girdle has a main body portion1 provided with the waist band 2 and the leg bands 3. Body portion 1 isadapted to extend completely over the abdomen, completelyover the sidesof the body of the wearer, and up to the median line of each of thebuttocks. By median line is meant an imaginary vertical line through thecenter of a leg projected up through the buttock. Preferably, the bodyportion of the girdle is formed from a material having a light but firmtwoway stretch, such as nylon elastic. The front of the girdle may beperfectly plain, or it may be of the design and configuration shown inthe design patent to Peck, No. Des. 174,054, granted February 15, 1955.I

The rear of the main body portion 1 of the girdle has an ellipticalopening therein with its major axis extending from the top to the bottomof the girdle into which is set a supplementary body portion or insert4. In general, the minor axis of the opening will be approximatelyone-half that of the major axis. In a typical garment, the major axismeasures 10%" and the minor axis 5%" althoughthis may vary of course,within limits.

The aforementioned opening and the insert 4 overlie the portion of thebuttocks not covered by the main body portion 1-that is, that portion ofthe buttocks between their respective median lines. Preferably, theinsert is formed of a non-stretchable material such, for example, ascotton-Dacron batiste.

The insert 4 is formed of two substantially crescentshaped pieces ofmaterial 4a and 4b, as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. The pieces arestitched together along their concave edges, thereby forming the centralseam 5, and are stitched along their convex edges to the main bodyportion 1, as indicated by the scams 6 and 7. When tension is exertedupon the central seam 5 by the body of the wearer and that seam curvesto conform to the natural curvature of the body, the crescent-shapednonstretchable pieces of material 4a and 4b impart a controlled, roundedfullness to the portions of the buttocks held in this insert portion ofthe girdle. By reference to Figure 5, it will be appreciated that insert4 would not be satisfied by the provision of a flat panel, even ifstitched down the middle, for the insert must be of suflicient fullmessto receive a portion of the buttocks without distortion of the naturalcontours thereof. The central seam 5 is especially important, as itimparts the uplift effect to the buttocks.

Patented Mar. 15, 1960. v

of the Viewing Figure 3,-itwill be noted that the customary type ofgirdle has a tendency to push the abdomen and u o ks.fi m-mo ioned e?pss v a t the ull i p ns he abdomen is flattened out, as arethe' buttockiithelatter being forced downwardly, as well-"as tfss bs qme quite pnou R'eferring toFigure 4, it will be noted that with the girdle of thepresent inventionthere is no flattening or distortion Qf the naturalcontour of the buttocks; On the contr rythere is an enhanced appearanceand a natural youthful look imparted thereto. The main body portion" 1ofthe tworway stretch'material provides ample supportjor controlling'theabdomen. The leg and waist bands bear upon the body above and below thebuttocks. The latter, in consequence, are free to flow into the fullnessof insert 4 withoutcompression or distortion. This. is apparent byreason of thepronounced curvature of the bodyat portions 1 0 and11thereof, above and below the buttockg respectively As the buttocks flowinto insert r 4, the seam 5- imparts an uplift effect thereto, whichadds to and enhances the roundness of the natural curves of thebuttocks. It will be obvious therefore, that the instant girdle gives anatural shape to the figure as it controls.

Iclaimz' t A girdle of the class described comprising a main body 7'portion of'elastic material for encircling the. bodyof the wearer in thepelvic region, said body portion having a single elliptically-shapedopening in thetrear thereof positioned entirely'inwardly of themedianlines of the buttocks ,with its major axis extending from the top to thebottom of the girdle, anda n insert for closing said open W ing, saidinsert beingfoi'med of a pair of crescent-shaped pieces ofnon-stretchable material joined together by a seamvalongtheir concaveedges, said insert having suffij cient fullness tosreceive a portion ofthe buttocks without i w fiQn of h na ura i i mq r t er 7 ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,565,856 7Loftuset al Aug. 28, 1951 2,651,047 Emerson Sept. 8, 1953 FORE N AT T 164,826 France July 6, 1955

